1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a device for non-destructive in situ inspection of parts of an engine, in particular a turbine engine.
2.Description Of The Related Art
Non-destructive inspection (NDI) of parts of a turbine engine serve to verify the state of such parts without damaging them. Under certain circumstances, such inspection may require the engine to be removed and partially dismantled in order to inspect parts that are difficult to access with inspection means.
A known inspection device comprises a rigid stick carrying an inspection probe or a sensor at its distal end. When the turbine engine is fitted with endoscopic orifices, the stick is inserted into the turbine engine through one of these orifices in order to perform in situ inspection of parts of the turbine engine, thereby avoiding any need to remove the engine or to dismantle it.
Nevertheless, the zone that is accessible to the stick is very limited and generally lies in register with the endoscopic orifice and at a short distance therefrom. Furthermore, when the probe carried by the stick needs to be used on a part, the probe needs to be pressed against a surface of said part with a certain amount of pressure and for a determined duration, and that is not always possible with the above-mentioned device.
For example, with labyrinth seals in a turbine engine, the outer annular wipers carried by the rotor of the turbine engine co-operate with blocks of abradable material carried by inner annular platforms of stator vanes of the turbine engine. In order to access the wipers of a labyrinth seal, it is therefore necessary to pass the inspection probe into a very narrow space that may present a width or axial dimension of about 1 millimeter (mm), and that is not possible with the above-mentioned stick.
As a result, certain zones of a turbine engine remain difficult to access for known non-destructive inspection devices since they are not designed to pass through orifices or passages of small size and through a plurality of consecutive orifices and/or passages that are not in alignment.
Furthermore, while inspecting a part, the probe generally needs to be held stationary relative to the engine, which is difficult with the above-mentioned prior art stick.